Simulating Star Formation At Scale On Frontera
How magnetic fields shape the birth of stars, revealed through stunning visualizations
Science Behind the Image
Scientists at UT Austin are visualizing the process of star formation and the role of different physical processes, stressing that magnetic fields play a critical role in star formation. Magnetic fields provide a source of effective pressure to stabilize against gravity — they can sweep up mass and fling it outward at high velocities (“outflows”), and they can transport angular momentum away from the forming star to facilitate collapse. Due to their 3D vector nature, magnetic fields are inherently complex and difficult to visualize. Simulations on supercomputers involve testing different assumptions for how the magnetic field couples with gas and how this affects the formation of young stars and their accretion disks.
Computation and Research
Nina Filippova, advised by Professor Stella Offner, conducted simulations using the Frontera supercomputer at TACC. Filippova is affiliated with the Oden Institute for Computational Engineering and Sciences and the Department of Astronomy at UT. This work was supported by the National Science Foundation, NASA, and the U.S. Department of Energy through funding for STEM workforce development.
Visualization and Software Support
Greg Foss and Dave Semeraro of TACC provided visualization expertise and ParaView software support.